The Dangal Sisters | Overcoming Overwhelming Odds

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[{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1482403678694","data":"Being a woman in rural Haryana is a tough break, age old gender norms are enforced in almost all of India's rural areas and often, in urban areas too. The state is famous for producing tough as nails wrestlers who have time and again represented us internationally. Mahavir Singh Phogat, who grew up in rural Haryana, was no different, accepting the set gender norms of his society, he never really thought women could go on to become wrestlers, but the difference between him and the rest of the society is that he learned, Mahavir Singh Phogat proved that change is the only constant in life, and changed his views. <\/p>With Dangal releasing today, let's take a look at the incredible real story that inspired the movie, and perhaps learn from it. <\/p> <\/br>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1482404764366","data":"585bb4156f29c"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1482404854511","data":"Geeta and Babita Singh Phogat's training began when Mahavir Singh watched in, we speculate, awe and amazement as Karnam Malleshwari went on to become the first Indian woman to clinch a bronze medal in Weightlifting at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Mahavir Singh, who had until then been disappointed that he had fathered four girls, shifted gears into thinking that if Malleshwari could do win a medal, so could his daughters. Until this incident, Mahavir Singh often lamented the fact that he didn't have a son, as he wanted his son to win a gold medal for India in wrestling. <\/p>Not long after the Olympics, he build a wrestling ring for his daughters to practice in, and due to the age of his two youngest daughters, he chose the eldest two, Geeta Singh and Babita Singh and put them to the task, training them and making them fight their cousins, the daughters of his brother.<\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1482405807635","data":"585bb9ce80fd9"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1482406322566","data":"Any child will resent things imposed by their parents against their judgement, Geeta and Babita were no different, they tried their hardest to get out of training but their father listened to none of it, making them train, follow strict timetables and maintain a strict diet for them. What the sisters did not realize that their training sessions were causing a storm in the state, a state infamous for its high female foeticide rates, with Geeta having been born in the late 80s when girls were seen as a liability more than a blessing. Mahavir Singh faced intense ridicule for his choice of training his daughters and their cousins, verbally abused and even threatened, but his daughters kept him going, and he maintained that his daughters were no lesser than sons. <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1482406947760","data":"585bbc716f534"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1482406989940","data":"Geeta and Babita faced sexism from their peers, even relatives, often being called manly and unwomanlike, with constant jeers calling for their failure, and yet the girls kept their nerves, in the face of overwhelming opposition, and when they ran out of girls to wrestle, they started wrestling boys, which led to many boys refusing to wrestle them as they feared losing to a girl. <\/p>Their adventures led to improvement in the gender ratio of Haryana, a state that was severely affected by the gender gap disparity, with families viewing the girl child more favorably than before, and in 2010, Geeta Singh Phogat gave them a reason to remember why the girl child was just as important as the boy. <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1482407239707","data":"585bbdb17d543"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1482407310723","data":"In the 2010 Commonwealth Games hosted in New Delhi, Geeta Singh Phogat defeated Emily Bensted of Australia to become the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in wrestling. Her sister, Babita, was not far behind, winning a silver in 2010, but went on to clinch the gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1482407522842","data":"585bbe8a25b95"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1482407526388","data":"Overcoming adversity is not a small feat, but overcoming age old gender norms, sexism and patriarchy is a feat of its own, something which cannot be just experienced in words. If there is a lesson in this story, it's that together, with the support of your loved ones, you can achieve greatness against all odds, go against the grain and do the impossible. Having someone to believe in you can often seem a luxury, but if you persevere, supporters will come, so go ahead and chase your dreams. <\/p>"}]

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